New Lake Macquarie City Council chief executive David Hughes has made convincing the NSW government to build its $12 billion train manufacturing hub at Teralba one of his first priorities.
The former Glencore coal mine site in Teralba and the Broadmeadow Locomotive Depot are being considered by the state government for the manufacturing hub that will build NSW's next generation of trains into the 2050s.
NSW Minister for Transport John Graham told the Newcastle Herald in July that the government hoped to make its decision within three months.
Mr Hughes officially began his new role on Monday, replacing interim CEO Tony Farrell, who has served in the leadership role since the departure of Morven Cameron last September.
Mr Hughes, who was previously the council's director of built and natural assets, said he hopes to meet with Mr Graham shortly to advocate for the Teralba site.
"We absolutely think Lake Macquarie's going to be the best place for that," Mr Hughes said.
"Some people might say we're biased, but we think that the Teralba site would be the absolute logical place, given that it's not a one-off decision that the state's got to make.
"It's a generational impact decision. So ultimately they've got a decision criteria that they're working to, which we're not 100 per cent across, but we would love to see that come into Lake Macquarie because we believe it would be the best thing for the Lower Hunter."
Mr Hughes said he also planned to consult with and advocate to other politicians with an eye to next year's state election.
"There's truly a partnership between us and politicians on how we look after the city," he said.
"A lot of people don't get the breadth of what councils do. I think we provide over 164 services to the community.
"I looked after a chunk of those in my previous roles but didn't have to be intimately across some of the others."
Another major project that will have Mr Hughes' attention is the proposed luxury tourism destination, Trinity Point, at Morisset Park.
Last week the Johnson Property Group submitted a scaled-down $463 million development application to the council. Previously, development was valued at $663.9 million.
"It will be a game changer for Lake Macquarie once that development gets under way and completed and it's really exciting for the tourism and the growth that it will bring in," Mr Hughes said.
"But ultimately, it's got to go through its assessments, but the outcome that it can provide is awesome."
Mr Hughes has had face-to-face meetings with the majority of councillors this week, and he said he already had a strong working relationship with Lake Macquarie's Labor mayor, Adam Shultz.
"We can be very aligned on things, or we can also have a robust debate with each other where we disagree and be prepared to hear each other's case," he said.
"Adam and I worked pretty closely together on a number of issues when he was a councillor and then since he's become the mayor, so that is a key relationship for any CEO and any mayor, and the fact that we do have a good relationship is a bonus for the city."
Managing the council workforce since the November 2024 administration building fire that gutted the Speers Point headquarters has been a challenge for Mr Hughes' predecessors, Ms Cameron and Mr Farrell.
Council staff have worked out of the former Ausgrid building at Wallsend since February 2025.
Mr Hughes said the tender process for the refit had closed and was being evaluated.
"There are people out there working on the roof at the moment, but the whole roof has to come off to be replaced," he said.
"Once that's completed, it'll be clear to the people who have to do all the refit on the inside that they are going to have a clear run at it.
"Until that tender evaluation's done, we won't really know what the timeframe is, but you can say it's probably at least 12 months."
